Thursday, April 25, 2013
Speeds above 90 mph should be allowed on the Intercounty Connector, says a letter in The Washington Post.
The Intercounty Connector recently increased its speed limit from 55 mph to 60 mph. Should it go even higher? The road—also known as MD 200—was designed for speeds up to 60 mph. But that's not stopping one Washington Post reader from insisting the state should turn the ICC into the American autobahn. The German highway allows drivers many long stretches of road without any speed limit. In his letter to The Washington Post, Brian Moore, of Bethesda, thinks it's a concept Maryland ought to at least consider consider: Why enforce a speed limit at all? If Maryland had any marketing sense, instead of enforcing speed limits on a road that few people bother to use, it would rebrand the ICC as an American autobahn. When you are as desperate for …
Monday, March 25, 2013
The Germantown Patch traffic widget maps live traffic data.
Monday, February 18, 2013
The airport announced that more 22 million people flew through BWI in 2012.
For the third straight year, Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport has increased its best yearlong traffic totals, according to a press release from the airport. Passenger traffic at BWI increased 1.3 percent from 2011, to 22.6 million commercial passengers. International passenger traffic increased 20.7 percent from 2011, and cargo shipments increased 3.7 percent from the year prior. The year also saw the airport's best month on record in July when more than 2.2 million people flew through BWI. "The sustained growth and success at BWI Marshall highlights its position as an important business and tourism gateway, as well as a job generator," Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said. Nearly 94,000 jobs are supported by BWI…
Friday, February 1, 2013
Wednesday storm was responsible for seven water rescues, commuter train delays
Wild weather stymied morning commutes throughout northern Montgomery County on Thursday, as a slew of rainstorms abruptly ended Wednesday’s spring tease. Montgomery County Fire & Rescue responded to seven water rescues on Wednesday night into Thursday morning—five of them were in Northern Montgomery County, Patch has reported. A toppled tree along train tracks near Gaithersburg hindered the morning and evening commutes for MARC train riders, Gaithersburg Patch reported. MARC cancelled three of its evening trains out of Washington, DC, the starting point of the Brunswick Line’s westbound schedules that stop in Germantown and Gaithersburg. The weather-related incidents were the result of a storm that swept through the region, beginning …
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Highway officials will analyze crash data on the Intercounty Connector before increasing the speed limit, The Baltimore Sun reported.
Those clamoring for an increase in the Intercounter Connector's 55 mph speed limit may have some positive news on the horizon. An engineering study of the ICC has concluded that the speed of the highway can safely be raised to 60 mph, pending an analysis of crash data, The Baltimore Sun reported Thursday. The accident review of the toll road is expected to be completed by the end of February, at which point the Maryland Transportation Authority will make a decision on the speed limit, according to the report. The highway—designed for speeds up to 60 mph—has yet to see a fatal accident and Maryland Transportation Authority Police have recorded just 20 single-vehicle accidents, according to the report. Earlier in December, Montgomery County …
Friday, December 7, 2012
Passengers traveling through the work zone via shuttle bus should allow for about 50 to 60 minutes of additional travel time, Metro advised.
Five Red Line Metrorail stations will close this weekend for scheduled track work, according to Metro's website. The closed stations will be: Takoma, Silver Spring, Forest Glen, Wheaton and Glenmont. Scheduled track work this weekend begins at 10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, and concludes at system closing on Sunday night. Free shuttle buses will replace Red Line trains between Fort Totten and Glenmont to allow for track renewal, signal improvements, platform reconstruction and fiber optic cable installation, according to Metro. Red Line trains will run between Fort Totten and Shady Grove every 10 minutes between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and every 15 minutes during the remaining operating hours. Metro advises passengers traveling …
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Silver Spring, Takoma stations closed this weekend
Buses will replace Red Line trains between Fort Totten and Forest Glen this weekend to allow for platform reconstruction, signal testing, track maintenance and fiber-optic cable installation, according to Metro's website. The work will begin 10 p.m. Friday and will continue through system closing on Sunday, Metro added. Two stations—Silver Spring and Takoma—will be closed. Red Line trains will operate in two segments: Metro advised passengers traveling through the work zone to allow about 30 minutes of additional travel time. Changes to last train times: Find more information about Metro's scheduled track work at Metro's website.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
A spokesperson for the road says it's still safe.
Maryland's newest state highway is already in trouble. Two bridges that carry Intercounty Connector drivers through East Montgomery County have cracks, state inspectors have found. The ramp near Route 29 and bridge over Route 29 and Briggs Chaney Road have cracks, WTOP reports. A spokesperson for the ICC said the bridges are safe, despite the fissures, which he said impact durability. Independent contractors will foot the bill to repair the bridges. Last October, three cracks were found in the road's interchanges at Needwood Road, Emory Lane and Georgia Avenue. The road that stretches from Gaithersburg to Laurel cost the state about $2.56 billion. The eastern portion, from Georgia Avenue to I-95, opened last November. --- See …
Monday, August 27, 2012
Live traffic data for your Monday morning drive.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Planning a Labor Day getaway? You're not the only one—33 million Americans are heading out for the long holiday weekend.
If you’re planning to shop sales at the mall or get tickets to the University of Maryland’s first home football game this Labor Day weekend, you may be one of the few sticking around the region. According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, 33 million Americans will choose to vacation 50 miles or more from home this Labor Day—a 2.8 percent increase from those who traveled last year. The number of holiday travelers this Labor Day signals a new post-recession high, and is following a trend in increased holiday travel. AAA reported that Memorial Day and Independence Day travel also increased this year. “Despite a sluggish economy and recent rises in gas prices, the increase in expected Labor Day holiday weekend travelers is driven by improving consumer …
David Bross
3:41 pm on Friday, April 26, 2013
As an American of German decent, I can tell you that driving the real German autobahn is spectacular. Should the ICC speed limit have staggered speed limits based on which lane one uses? Probably not. But 60 mph is also ridiculous. Perhaps a basic speed limit of 65 mph with the fast lane up to 70-75 mph is a better solution. After all, not all drivers have the skill or automobile to drive at … more ›